Prime
Coffee billions: President demands accountability
Three coffee booths that have been abandoned in Arua City. PHOTO/CLEMENT ALUMA
What you need to know:
- When the directive to give CICU the money came before Parliament last year, MPs vehemently opposed the idea, with several of them pointing out that it was unseemly to advance taxpayers’ monies to a private company for a job which could be done by the relevant government agency, Uganda Coffee Development Authority.
A government minister has asked Mr Nelson Tugume, the chairperson of the Coffee Investment Consortium Uganda (CICU), to account for Shs37 billion he received on the instructions of President Museveni to promote Uganda’s coffee exports.
The demand for accountability comes amid mounting public pressure from some large scale coffee growers on Mr Tugume. So far, speaking through his lawyers, the consortium chair has denied allegations he swindled the money and threatened to sue those making the claim.
Dr Monica Musenero, the Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation in the Office of the President, communicated the request for accountability to Mr Tugume in a January 15 letter, indicating that the President wants to know how the billions were spent.
Last year, President Museveni directed the Finance ministry to advance $10 million (about Shs37 billion) as a coffee export fund to CICU through which exporters were supposed to access capital for buying large quantities of coffee from farmers.
The purchased coffee was then supposed to be processed for value addition and onward export. Now, the President’s demand comes on the heels of findings contained in a recent Auditor General (AG) report showing that an earlier government intervention in the sub-sector – also assigned to Mr Tugume – have fallen flat.
The minister told Mr Tugume in her communication that “His Excellency, the President is requesting for an update on how far we have gone following the disbursement of the funds worth Shs37 billion towards coffee value chain”.
“In that regard, the Science, Technology, and Innovation Secretariat is in the process of putting together the technical financial report for the above-mentioned subject. Therefore, the purpose of this letter is to request you to submit; [a] technical progressive report against the milestones [and] avail the record of accounts and all accountability documents for an internal audit,” the letter continues.
A private sector concern started in 2021, CICU was supposed to bring together more than 10,000 coffee farmers and traders drawn from Bugisu, Acholi, Ankole, Kigezi, and Rwenzori sub-regions.
According to its website, Mr Tugume is director of CICU’s founding council, with a Mr Robert Byaruhanga named as the council’s secretary, while Ms Consolata Niwagaba Tumwesigye is a member.
Other available information also reveals that Mr Tugume is the director of Inspire Africa (U) Limited, a firm which was separately awarded a multibillion contract by the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) in 2017 and 2019 to promote coffee consumption countrywide,
The OPM deal has come under scrutiny, with the Auditor General reporting in his 2021 findings that, among others, there is nothing to show for the reported expenditure of Shs1.9 billion on purportedly teaching people how to drink coffee.
“M/S Inspire Africa (U) Limited was paid Shs1.9 billion (under item 2: Consumption of coffee) for setting up coffee shops and the attendant infrastructure in Arua, Mbale, Lira, Gulu, and Tororo... However, from my physical inspection, I noted that except in Gulu, the coffee shops were either non-existent or non-operational in the areas where they were supposed to be placed,” the auditor general reported.
Efforts to reach to Mr Tugume for comment were fruitless by press time yesterday as his known telephone number was switched off. His lawyer, Mr Francis Harimwomugasho, also did not pick our repeated calls to his known mobile number. A woman, who received a call meant for Mr Kizito Tinkamanyire, the digital media manager at Inspire Africa (U) Ltd, ended the call upon realising she was speaking to this publication.
Nonetheless, Mr Alex Luganda, one of the lawyers for Inspire Africa (U) Ltd, said he needed to confirm with his client whether Dr Munsenero’s letter had been received.
“However, I think the disbursement of the monies was against work plans and proposals that were presented and they had timeframes within which certain activities can be done,” he said by phone on January 16.
“So, the responses will still be guided by the working documents and I think that is the way activities should be done,” Mr Luganda observed.
The lawyer further observed that “the government and the Coffee Consortium have a working framework within which they are operating. So, I may not be directly privy to the same, but the consortium itself and the relevant government agencies should be in position to share the same.”
However, despite Mr Luganda’s seeming confidence in his client, Mr Robert Kabushenga who owns a large coffee-growing enterprise under his Rugyeyo Farm business alleged last Friday on the messaging platform X that Mr Tugume misappropriated billions of taxpayers’ monies meant for coffee related activities.
When the directive to give CICU the money came before Parliament last year, MPs vehemently opposed the idea, with several of them pointing out that it was unseemly to advance taxpayers’ monies to a private company for a job which could be done by the relevant government agency, Uganda Coffee Development Authority.
It was, however, rammed through Parliament with reports suggesting the idea had heavy backing from the Presidential Advisory Committee on Exports and Industrial Development, which is headed by the President’s son-in-law, Mr Odrek Rwabwogo.
